The Seven Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighteenth
by MetalMike
Summary: The End fic in the trilogy. The Old, the Wild and its Master is the Beginning and should be read before this. The Middle will come later. *Chapter two up!*
1. The One

Well, It's finally ready. The beginning of the End story of the trilogy. The Old, The Wild and it's Master should be read before this. The Middle will be written later, to fill in the gaps. 

"My name?"   
"Yes."   
"It's...X....7718."   
She leaned forward toward me, eyes crinkled. "Not THE X-7718?"   
I hesitated for a moment, and nodded. The woman behind the desk stared for a moment, and then suddenly became self-concious and dropped her eyes. "You may proceed."   
"Ma'am, don't you need to ask me for my password?"   
She turned at me, and blinked twice, as if awakening. "Oh, yes..."   
I reached forward and typed my password into the console. The green light flashed once; the signal to move on.   
I guess that all would be considered weird, if you didn't live in our cozy 23rd century. Home of convenience robots, comfort, and luxury.   
Oh, and WAR.   
You see, the reason the woman at the archive entrance was so surprised to hear my name is because I am IT. The creation that brought this all upon us. I was created by a Thomas Melchior sometime in the 21st century. He was a genius; however, I was his 7718th robot. The others were scrapped because of various bugs. It took him sixty years to perfect me.   
When he finished, he was over one hundred years old. And in order to complete me, he needed to feed all the information about humans and their world into me. He calculated that this would take at least half a century.   
So Dr. Melchior buried me in a capsule, setting up the program inside. When I was completed, I would stay in stasis until activated.   
All the robots made afterward were based off me. Which brought upon the coming of the War. When countries made armies of robots based on me it was only a matter of time.   
I was discovered in the 22nd century by a man named Almon Halfour. All I know of this is that he found me along with five others who appeared dead. I was here at the archives to find out more information on these others.   
I walked down the blank, drab grey winding hall to come to a stop in the main room. Here, computer consoles were attached down the wall, where various people could do their research. I eyed the rows and found number 7718. We don't really have to use our numbers, I just like doing that.   
Finding Almon Halfour's file, I skimmed down it until I reached the area of his discovery of me.   
"...until what made him famous came about. Mr. Halfour came upon the robot model X-7718 after five children defeated the wizard Stagmar in battle. However, these five children appeared dead at the scene. Only three names are known positively: Michael Amra, Will Stanton, and Bran Davies. The other two girls' names have been lost to time, although many historians believe one of them was named Elena. These children weilded some kind of power to defeat Stagmar. Details are unknown, because Halfour's book about the subject was lost in a fire...."   
Interesting! But I needed the final two names to do an extensive research.   
I type Elena into the Search box. I got a result, but it was just finding the name in Almon Halfour's file. I tried Alena. Nothing. Elana. No results!   
I slammed my elbow on the keyboard in frustration. It hit two letters on the left side of the board: A and Q. I shrugged and pressed enter.   
There were three results. Two were nothing important, but the third...   
It was a file on Aqurtha. In parentheses was the name Alana.   
The file said Alana was a girl born around 600 B.C who had control over Water and Earth who featured in a few folklore tales. It also mentioned Saphyria, or Traci, another girl who had control over two elements.   
"Perfect."   
I now knew what to search for. Opening up the search box, I entered in the names; Will, Mike, Bran, Traci, and Alana.   
There was one file that contained all those names. The profile on a character very prominent in the fireside tales. Ector, Lord of High Magic. In it each of the names were mentioned as being people consultable to find more information on the mysterious Lord of High Magic. But apparently, nobody put these two hints together.   
At the bottom of Ector's file was a poem.   
"_When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back._   
_ Three from the circle, Three from the track._   
_ Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone._   
_ Five will remain, and one go alone._   
  
_ Iron for the birthday, bronze carried long,_   
_ Wood from the burning, stone out of song,_   
_ Fire in the candlering, Water from the thaw,_   
_ Six signs the circle, and the grail gone before.___

_ Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold,_   
_ Played to wake the sleepers, oldest of the old._   
_ Power from the green witch lost beneath the sea,_   
_ All shall find the light at last, silver on the tree._

It has been told to me that these prophecies are to take on a new meaning. One other then us Six will be the one on   
the new quest. All I know is that he will be artificially made. What will come of this, even I cannot forsee. However, I hope these words reach the One's hands.   
--_Ector_. "   
Finally, the puzzle was in place! The reason I had been created was in front of me. I was the artificially made One Ector spoke of.   
Iron, Bronze, Wood, Stone, Fire and Water were the names of the Six upgrades of the robot X-9023, who created the upgrades for himself but hid them when he decided they would be used for war. The first was painfully clear. I had the Iron upgrade already. It was given to me by Almon Halfour on his dying day. It was exactly 40 years from the day I was discovered.   
The rest would tell me how to find the upgrades one by one. 

A/N: Well, we've begun. ^__^ 


	2. The Book

Well, ffnet is back, and so am I, to deliver you chapter two of the 7718th model. Enjoy! 

(Traci: There are a few minor changes from the copy I sent to you.) 

The next step was to gather all I could about the other upgrades. I typed in X-9023 and found his file.   
"The only clues found to point to the location of the hidden upgrades were written in a book by Almon Halfour. However, the only known copy of the book was lost in a fire. The only other copy of the book is mentioned in the fireside tales of Ector, Lord of High Magic; apparently, he has a copy, and uses it for great wisdom..."   
...so. A journey to meet the Lord of High Magic was in store for me now? Fine. Whatever it took to complete my purpose, I would do. Even if it meant standing up to the fabled 'Alhen' himself.   
I loaded up Ector's file again and scanned for anything giving me a clue for how to find him. It vaugely mentioned he was supposed to live deep under the sea. That wasn't much of a clue! However I happened to know about certain things the common public would have no concept of; One of them was an area in the deep sea known as Fayolin. There have been strange occurances around this area; people have crashed into the sea there and miraciously awoken on shore, ect. But whenever anyone tried to explore the area they found themselves in a totally different portion of the sea.   
I walked out of the building and headed toward the nearest transport. Fayolin was in sector 672. Being who I was I doubted I would recieve any trouble applying for a watercraft.   
Stepping into the transport building, I immediatly turned right. I walked to the desk ahead.   
"I wish to apply for a watercraft."   
The man behind the desk grunted. "You're at the wrong desk, fool." I looked up and around, startled. When I turned back, the man was laughing.   
"All you damned robots are so gullible. If that stupid Melchior fool had put something else besides fake intelligence in that 7718 maybe it would be different." ...uh-oh....   
"Now what is your name?"   
I blinked and hesitated. I couldn't make it up, or the records would be put off and I could be thrown into prison.   
"I am X-7718,sir."   
The man blinked and laughed uproariously for a few minutes. Then he came up again. "Thank you, my friend, I haven't had such a laugh in ages. But seriously, who are you?"   
I sighed and flipped off the iron cover on my knuckles revealing X-7718 emblazoned in yellow. I flicked it back, covering my fist with a part of the iron upgrade again. The man coughed and filled out the form. "And what do you want the watercraft for?"   
Now what was I to say? That I was off to find the Lord of High Magic? Absurd! He would take me for a malfunctioned prototype and toss me into the bin!   
"Heading toward the Fayolin area, sir."   
The man creased his eyes and looked like he was about to explode into laughter again, but calmed down and wrote in a neat curvy script what I had just said to him. He handed me the form with his signature without another word, but as I stepped from the room I heard him crack up again.   
It is not an emotion of us models to feel embarrassed, but I swear I did.   
I handed the form to the distributor and got my craft without another problem. I knew the transporter coordinates; it was safely stored in my drives. I punched them in, and WHOOSH!   
Water.   
I sat in my shimmering purple craft and closed the hatch carefully. The craft I had recieved was like a lima bean; the hatch rested in the curve at the top. I manuevered a few controls and began my descension.   
Hours passed. The sea was a very deep place. I amused myself by playing solitare with my programs. Finally, the echolation built into the watercraft picked up something strange. I leaned forward in my seat eagerly.   
There, rising very dramatically, a silver half orb rose slowly from behind a rift. The image shimmered like heat was rising from around it. It looked vaugley reminiscent of something I had seen before. Strange...   
I came closer and began to wonder how one would get into this place. Turns out I didnt have to do anything. After getting closer I found myself suddenly at the end of a long hallway.   
The entire place was beaten by age. A crack was in the ceiling, mysteriously not letting water in, but it looked very, very old. I stepped down a bit and saw in front of me a very strange sight.   
There was someone seated on the throne. But his image kept wavering from an old man, to a boy, to a middle aged man, back to an old man again....   
Finally he stopped as a boy, tawny flecked and flinty blue eyed, yellow wavy hair, dressed in a robe that was not just white, but white as if truly pured from all possible darkness or shadows. Pitch white, I called it. I just knew what to name it.   
"So you are the One, are you not?" Ector spoke, not with a loud ringing voice of power, but with the calm voice of a boy. It made me immediatly much calmer and easier.   
"I was called that, I believe." I bowed somewhat stiffly. Ector grinned.   
"And you have come for the book?" I nodded.   
Ector arose and walked forward, seizing a small, slim book. On the front was an inscription. "The Tale of the Old, the Wild, and its Master, by Almon Halfour." I nodded again. Ector walked over and placed the book in my hands.   
"There is but one more thing you need from me. When I first came into this world it was through a mirror of mists known now as Erised. I know now that the mirror is no longer a passageway through worlds as it once was. However, when I first went through, ages and ages ago, I found myself in a small cave."   
Ector walked forward and past me, staring out the slits in the wall that somehow let no water through. "In the cave was a robot, much like you. with the name X-9023 emblazoned on his knuckles." I recognised the name of the robot who made the upgrades I sought.   
"He was creating the second of six items. The first was stored away. And when he was done he looked at me and handed me this." He took from his robe a bronze colored cube. "I nodded, and turned back into the mists. I have carried this upgrade very long, my friend." He smiled. "Bronze carried long...and I see you have already recieved the Iron upgrade...for the birthday, I presume?"   
"It was indeed," I said to him. "given to me forty years from the date of my discovery by Almon Halfour." Ector nodded to me and slowly, as if borne by the air and wind, made his way ahead and handed me the bronze upgrade. Immediatly, it activated, and snapped up it's metal around my visor and ankles.   
"The upgrades give you immense skill with the item they are named for," Ector explained. "and when you get them all nothing can prevent you for awakening those who were lost." He grinned. "The Sleepers. You already know who they are."   
I thought for a moment. Did I know? I knew peices of the puzzle. Suddenly they all began coming together. I looked at Ector. "The Sleepers of the rhyme," I said, "Are Will, Mike, Bran, Traci, and Alana."   
Ector swished his robe around him. "What you say is true." he whispered softly. From behind him, a huge screen ornatley carved and mounted on the wall suddenly split in two and fell to the ground in a huge crash. Behind sat a sword made of cyrstal and shining like the sea.   
Ector walked up swiftly and seized the sword. "This is Excalibur, otherwise known as Eirias." He handed the hilt to me gingerly. "I give it to you in the same manner it was given to Bran. You must bring it with you. It's light is needed as well as the sound from the harp of gold." He also handed me a sheath, and when I put the sword in Ector blinked and sighed.   
"I am getting old..." He glanced at the sheath, and then to me, his eyes sad. "The sheath will keep the sword invisible to the common person. Read the book. It will give you guidance on where to go next." I bowed again and walked back down the hall. And then, I was there in the transport building stepping out.   
Back in the sea Ector turned and sat back on his throne. He stared at the runic inscriptions on the arm rest. "But there were seven Sleepers....I do hope this is all right." He looked around for a moment and sighed, long and sad. "Why is the sword invisible to me when in the sheath? My power is being sapped by something, I'm sure of it. And if I'm right, then this is the beginning of the greatest calamity since the forging of the crown of Angmor." And with that, he vanished. 

A/N: Blee. 


End file.
